Chapter Summary: After making sure that Ana is safe after her ordeal at Gomorrah, Beth and Boone return there to take care of Clanden and Troike.

Chapter 28: Shelter from the Storm

Boone's hand rested on Beth's shoulder and he nodded to her. Then he realized that wasn't enough and pulled her into a tight embrace. She gave a small grunt of surprise before hugging him back.

"I was worried when Arcade came back without you," he said quietly to her, not wanting to draw attention from anyone else. Seeing the look of urgency on Arcade's face when he had rushed back to them alone made Boone fear the worst. Even though he'd been assured that Beth and Ana were safe, the tightness in his chest didn't subside until he saw them. The feeling of her relaxing into him melted the worst of his fears away.

"Oh! I'm so sorry," she said, looking up at him with her cheek pressed against his chest. "I didn't think. I just wanted to get Ana out of there."

"I know. It's fine. I'm just glad you're both okay." He held her for another moment before reluctantly letting her go.

Boone, Beth, and Arcade escorted Gaby and Ana through Freeside to the Old Mormon Fort. Although they were only armed with hold-out weapons, the junkies still avoided messing with the group, which Boone was thankful for. Ana had obviously been traumatized enough without them having to defend themselves against an unprovoked attack by some lowlife with a knife. Gaby kept her arm around her sister and frequently glanced back at him, as if seeking reassurance. He didn't know what to say or do, except to take Beth's suggestion and get Ana to the Followers to make sure she was physically okay. Helping her mentally would be a much longer process and he didn't know where they could begin with that.

When they arrived, Arcade asked the gate guard where Dr. Farkas was and they were directed toward her office in the Fort's western tower. Both he and Beth agreed that she was the best person to see. Arcade led the sisters inside while Beth and Boone waited outside the door to give Ana her privacy.

Still unsure of what to do or say, Boone leaned against the tower's wall feeling lost. He then felt Beth grasp his hand and he squeezed hers in return. She always seemed to know what to do when he didn't. As long as she was there with him, they could handle almost anything together.

Arcade came back outside. "Julie's seeing her now," he said, shaking his head. "Poor girl."

The three of them stood in silence, waiting.

After a while, Gaby came back outside. "Dr. Farkas says that Ana's been..." she started, then sighed, closing her eyes.

Boone put his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. You don't have to say it." He didn't want to hear it any more than he wanted her to have to say it.

She grimaced with a nod. "She's dehydrated and she's withdrawing from some chems that son of a bitch gave her," she growled. "Arcade, Julie needs equipment to start an IV."

"I'm on it," he said, hurrying away.

Gaby turned her attention to Boone. "Ana confirmed that Clanden was the one. Just him. I want you to make him pay for what he did. I'd do it myself, but I can't leave her. They want to keep her here for at least a few hours. Promise me you won't let him get away with this." Her eyes stared intensely into his and he knew what she was asking.

"I promise."

"They'll take good care of her here," Beth said. "When they release her, you can bring her back to the Lucky 38. You two can have the guest room for as long as you want. I'll tell Vic—uh, the securitron at the door-to let you in."

"Thanks. You've done so much for us already."

"You're welcome. We're happy to help."

"I need to get back to her."

"We'll meet you back at the 38," Boone said.

Gaby went back into Dr. Farkas' office, leaving Beth and Boone alone again.

"You found her in Clanden's suite?" he stated more than asked.

"Yes," she confirmed. "Thank God we got to her when we did." She looked down at the ground and rubbed the back of her neck before speaking again. "There was something Arcade and I didn't tell you."

"Oh?"

"After we left Cachino's suite, we found a body in a room off the hallway. A woman. She'd been...assaulted and badly hurt before she died."

"Badly hurt?" he repeated.

"Tortured." She pulled a holotape out of her satchel. "We found a stack of these in Clanden's safe. They're...snuff tapes."

"Snuff tapes?" This was a lot to process.

"Um...that's when—"

"I know what a snuff tape is," he interrupted through clenched teeth. The reality of what they had rescued Ana from sank in further and his stomach clenched. He couldn't wait to get his hands on Clanden. "Fuck, why didn't you say something before?!"

"I knew the body wasn't Ana and I didn't want to panic...Gaby."

Boone crossed his arms over his chest with a sour expression on his face. "You should have at least told me."

"If I had, what would you have done?"

He was pretty sure he would have wanted to rip the place apart. Beth knew him well enough that she'd know that. Maybe she was right to wait. That didn't mean he liked that she had. "I wouldn't have let you go off without me, that's for sure."

She groaned impatiently. "I handled it. And it's not like I was alone. Can we please not argue about this? We have more important things to deal with right now."

"Fine. How are we going to get this Clanden guy?"

"Hopefully we can get back to his suite before he discovers that Ana's gone. That will make getting to him a lot easier."

Boone and Beth went out of the gate and into Freeside, heading back toward Vegas. He kept an eye out for danger as they walked. Part of him wished a junkie would attack them so he could get out some of his frustration.

"Were you able to talk to Troike?" she asked.

"Yeah, but we didn't get much out of him. The guy's twitchy. It could just be the chems. He said he was high on buffout and jet the night he stabbed that hooker. Said he blacked out and she was dead when he woke up."

"He passed out while high on buffout and jet? That doesn't make sense. Those are heavy stimulants. People can stay up for days on that shit. Hm..." She looked thoughtful.

"What?"

"The Omertas are likely the ones providing his chems, so it would have been easy for them to mess with his supply. Maybe he didn't kill that girl. Maybe he was framed so the Omertas could keep him under their thumb so he keeps bringing in the weapons. We already know that Clanden is a murderer. They could have taken a girl he killed and put her in Troike's bed after they drugged him."

"How can we prove that?"

"Short of listening to Clanden's tapes, which I really, really do not want to do? I guess we'll just have to convince him to tell us. One way or another."

Back at Gomorrah, they wasted no time in getting to Clanden's suite.

"Are you sure this is the way you want to handle this?" Boone asked.

"Yes," she said, unbuttoning her shirt down to where her cleavage showed. "The most important things are to make sure he's not holding anyone else and to find out what the Omertas are planning."

"Okay, but when the time comes, let me be the one to take him out."

"Right."

Instead of breaking in this time, Beth knocked while Boone stayed out of sight, but where he could still observe. The hallway was otherwise empty.

The door opened. A man with brown hair and a trimmed beard greeted her, "Can I help you?"

"I hope so." She lightly brushed through her hair with her fingers. "I'm looking for Clanden." Giving an obvious glance up and down his body, she leaned against the door frame with one hand on her hip. Boone felt a pang of nausea at the display, but pushed it back, knowing that she was looking for obvious weapons and disguising her assessment as a flirtatious gesture. They were doing this for a good cause, he reminded himself.

The man's face brightened and he grinned slyly, eyeing her breasts. "Well, you found him."

Without another word, she jabbed the palm of her hand hard against his nose and he stumbled back with a cry of pain. She shoved her way inside and Boone followed her, shutting the door and locking it behind him.

"What the fuck, bitch?!" Clanden exclaimed, his voice muffled behind his hands as they grasped his nose.

"Oh, please," she said dismissively, buttoning her blouse back up. "I've seen your handiwork. You'd think you could handle a little pain." Boone was impressed by how cool she was under the circumstances.

"What are you talking about?"

"We don't have time for games, Clanden. I see that you didn't check on Ana when you got back here or you wouldn't have been so calm."

"Who?"

That set Boone off. "You don't even know her name?!" he growled, grabbing the man by the throat. Clanden clawed at Boone's hands fruitlessly, unable to pry off even one determined finger.

"The girl you had tied up in your closet," Beth said, putting her hand on Boone's arm, indicating he should let go.

"Right, Ana, right," Clanden sputtered, his throat restricted. Boone gave a final squeeze before he released his grip and let the man fall to the ground, choking and gasping.

"Are you holding anyone else?"

"Why should I tell you?"

Her face softened, looking almost pitying. "Because, Clanden, we both know you're a weak little man who can't take the kind of punishment my friend and I can give you. You want to scurry off into the sunset and put this all behind you? Then tell me what I want to know."

"You're not going to kill me or turn me into the NCR or something?" He was clearly desperate to believe there was a way out of this, even though any rational person would know there wasn't. Boone resisted the urge to smirk. There was no way Clanden was leaving this suite alive.

Beth scoffed. "The NCR doesn't have jurisdiction on the Strip. They're not even allowed to carry weapons. And since he knows nothing about this, 'Not At Home's' robots aren't going to come after you either. Once you're outside these doors, you're home free. Now, tell me: are you holding anyone else?"

Studying her face for a moment, as though trying to decide if he believed her, he shook his head. "There's no one else."

"Good. That's very good." She took the stack of holotapes out of her satchel. "Who were these girls?"

His eyes went wide and he scrambled away from her. He dove to a bag beside the coffee table and pulled out a knife, twisting around and brandishing it. It was a desperate and pathetic move, especially since he was down on his knees.

In response, Boone drew his hidden pistol and aimed it at the man. "Drop it!" he ordered.

"You're not going to kill me if you want information," Clanden said with surprising confidence.

"No," Beth agreed, "but you don't need your kneecaps to talk, now do you? For someone who is so familiar with torture, you are being rather stupid. I've given you a chance to end this without any more pain. Now drop the knife and kick it to me." Her voice was soft, but firm, almost as though she were scolding a child.

Boone pulled the hammer of the pistol back and aimed for the man's leg, wishing he wouldn't do as she said.

Quickly, he tossed the knife on the floor, kicked it with his heel and it went skidding across the carpet toward her. Beth picked it up and tucked it in the back of her belt. Boone settled for flipping the gun around and striking Clanden across the face with the handle, causing the man to let out a yelp like a kicked dog. Bloody teeth flew from his mouth as he fell sprawling onto the soiled carpet.

This wasn't usually how he and Beth operated, but this was a special case. Besides, whatever they did to Clanden would be mild compared to the things he had done to the girls on those tapes. And what he had planned to do to Ana. The bastard was lucky Beth was here and he wasn't left alone with Boone.

"Try anything like that again and we won't be so kind," she said, kneeling down beside him. "You need to cooperate. Tell us who the girls in the tapes were."

He was holding his face where Boone had struck him, a fresh stream of blood pouring from his mouth and crooked nose, onto his sweater vest. Judging by the amount of blood and the tears in his eyes, his nose was broken and possibly his cheekbone, which was satisfying to see. "Who are you?!" he demanded, his voice cracking.

"We're the ones asking the questions. Now tell me who the girls were."

"I don't know who they were." Beth's expression hardened, which seemed to alarm the man. "But they were from here. Gomorrah. Whores and waitresses. A few tourists."

She glanced up at her partner. "So if we find out who's gone missing, we can find out their names."
"Yes!"

"How many girls?"

Clanden hesitated.

"How many?!"

"...Eleven."

Boone's jaw tightened. This man had killed nearly a dozen women and had gotten away with it. If Gaby hadn't gotten here in time and if he, Beth, and Arcade hadn't been here to help, how many more would have been tortured and murdered by this sick fuck? He took a step forward with his empty fist clenched, ready to punch him, but Beth put her hand out to stop him. Boone took a deep breath and relented.

"What did you do with their bodies?" Beth asked, sounding like she was holding back bile.

Clanden wiped some of the blood from his face with his sleeve, wincing as his arm touched his nose. "Burned or buried in the desert."

"Do the Omertas know about all this?"

"The bosses? Yeah. As long as I do what they want and don't draw too much attention, they don't give a shit." They'd broken through and he was spilling his guts now which was a disappointment to Boone. He was hoping it would have taken more convincing. Beth was right about the man being a sniveling coward.

"The prostitute that they found in Troike's bed, did you kill her?"
He sniffed and then coughed, spraying more blood onto the carpet. "Yeah. They knew he had connections to get weapons smuggled onto the Strip. They fucked with his usual dose or something, made him pass out. Then I set the scene. When he woke up and the bosses pretended to catch him with the dead whore, he was much more willing to help them out."

"What else do you do for the bosses?"

"I...I make things."

"What kinds of 'things'?"

"Bombs, okay! I make bombs."

Beth stood up, rubbing one hand over her clenched fist. Boone couldn't tell if she was trying to think or to calm herself. "What are the bosses planning? Why do they need so many weapons?"

"Fuck no! I can't tell you that!" he said, crawling away from her.

Boone grabbed him by the ankle, jerking him back so his head banged against the leg of the coffee table. Then he kicked him hard in the ribs, making him double-over in pain.

"You're not going anywhere unless we allow it, so you'd better tell us everything you know," she said. "You do want to leave here in one piece, don't you?"

"Fine, okay!" He held his stomach with one hand and the side of his head with the other, looking dismayed. A stream of blood was still flowing from his nostrils and his cheek was deeply reddened. "When the Legion attacks the Dam, the Omertas are going to take over the Strip."

"The Legion!" Boone barked, making the man jump.

"Yeah, some guy, said he was from the Legion. Called himself 'Mr. Fox.' Said he was a fruma-something. Made the bosses a deal. They take over while the NCR and Not At Home are distracted, then they can run the place."

This "Mr. Fox" had to be Vulpes Inculta or someone working for him, Boone figured. He had managed to get these tribal idiots to work for them by exploiting their greed and stupidity. Anyone who knew anything about the Legion would know that people like the Omertas would be among the first casualties if the Legion took over Vegas.

This was bad. Very bad.

"When did this happen?" she asked.

"I dunno. Before they hired me," Clanden answered. "You want to know more about the weapons, ask Troike."

She turned to Boone. "You got anything else you want to ask?" He shook his head. "Okay then. Finish it." She stepped back and he pointed the gun at Clanden's head."

A horrified expression twisted the man's features. "Hey, wait! You said-"

Boone fired a suppressed shot, hitting the man between the eyes and he fell back lifelessly.

They left the body where it was and exited the suite after Boone cleaned the blood from his hands.

They found Troike in the lower lounge where he had been earlier that day.

"Oh, man, you again," he said to Boone, shaking his head. "I told you everything I can."

"Troike," Beth said gently, but not in the mocking way she had with Clanden, "we know you didn't kill that girl."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"The bosses messed with your chem stash and when you passed out, they planted the prostitute in your bed. Clanden's the murderer, not you."

His eyes grew wide and his hands went to his forehead, as though trying to contain his disbelief. "You're not just fucking with me, right?"

"He confessed and we have proof."

"Holy shit." His breath came out in halting laughs and a relieved smile stretched across his face. "I really didn't do it."

"No, but what you did do is smuggle a lot of guns onto the Strip for the Omertas. Did they tell you why?"

"No, no. I knew it wasn't anything good, but they had me. I had a plan, though."

"Oh?"

"Thermite. I made enough to melt all their weapons down to unusable scrap."

"That's dangerous stuff," Boone commented. He was familiar with many types of explosives and munitions from his time in the army, although he'd never worked with it personally.

"Burns hotter than the devil's asshole. I rigged a spark to the light switch in the storage room to set it off. Someone just needs to plant the stuff."

"And I suppose you want us to do it," Beth said.

"Hey, I would, but the bosses have been watching me real closely. I get caught and they won't even bother turning me in to House or whatever. They'll just put a bullet in my head and dump my dead ass out in the desert."

"Fine. How do we do it?"

"Here's the key to the storage room. It's just down the hall. I've hidden the thermite in a panel in the wall just outside the door. Distribute it around the room, then close the door behind you and hit the switch. Simple. Don't worry, the thermite won't go off until something sparks it."

Boone and Beth were able to sneak to the storage room without anyone seeing them. He retrieved the container of thermite from behind the panel right where Troike had said it was. Inside the room, there were dozens of metal shipping crates of various sizes, some stacked to the ceiling.

"Shit," Beth breathed. "This is a lot more than I expected. There's enough weaponry here for a small army."

"Too bad we can't give all this to the NCR. I'd love for these guns to be turned on those scheming Legion fucks."

"I know, but there'd be no way to get them out of here without being seen. It'll undermine the security on the Strip if anyone found out about this."

"Yeah, you're right. If the White Gloves or the Chairmen heard about an arsenal being smuggled onto the Strip, that would give them ideas. If we're going to do this, we'd better before anyone comes in here."

Together, they distributed the dark powdery substance around the room, making sure to cover the crates as much as possible. When they were done, they exited the room, shut the door behind them, and Beth pressed the light switch. From the other side of the door, they heard a spark clicking, then a whoosh sound.

The fire seemed to build quickly as the smell of heat and burning metal filled the air. Boone wondered if it would burn out before it took the whole casino with it, not that he would have shed any tears over it. Seemingly as fast as it caught, all the sounds stopped and the heat began to dissipate.

They waited a few minutes before opening the door, tucking their faces into their shirt collars to filter the fumes. The crates had largely been reduced down to twisted, charred metal and smoldering ash. Any guns left were very likely damaged beyond repair.

Closing the door behind them, they snuck back out the way they came and headed off to find Cachino and tell him it was time for the next stage of his plan.

Later that evening, Boone and Beth returned to the suite at the Lucky 38. The others were already back there waiting for them. When they entered the kitchen, they saw Arcade and Gaby preparing dinner. The scent of something meaty and spicy warmed the air, which revived Boone's spirits after the day at Gomorrah.

"Oh, hey," Gaby said in a hushed voice. "Ana's in the guest room. Dr. Farkas gave her something to help her sleep. We hope she'll be out for the rest of the night."

"You two are just in time," Arcade said. "Dinner's almost ready."

While Boone grabbed beers for everyone, Gaby dished out plates of rice and what he recognized as her abuelita's carne asada, which had been one of his favorites growing up. He had always enjoyed spending time with Gaby's family rather than his own.

She passed out four plates and set a fifth one aside in the fridge.

They all dug in, mumbling appreciatively at the meal. After a few bites, Boone noticed that Beth was nearly finished with her beer and rice, having hardly touched the meat.

"Is it too spicy?" he asked.

"No, it's fine," Beth said, taking another long drink of her beer and then a large forkful of rice. Beads of sweat formed on her temples and her eyes watered.

He picked up a bowl of herby cream sauce and passed it to her. "Here, try some of this to cool it down."

"Thanks." She heaped on a couple of large spoonfuls and stirred it in, then took another small bite.

"Better?"

"Much, thank you."

Except for idle small talk and the occasional request to pass something, the meal continued on quietly. The events of the day seemed to have dampened everyone's mood, but they all seemed to perk up as they grew full and the beer kicked in. When the conversation grew too loud, Gaby got up to shut the door, so they wouldn't disturb Ana.

Eventually, Arcade stood and said, "I'm exhausted. I think I'll head on to bed."

Beth stood as well. "I think I will, too. Bo—uh, Craig, I hope you don't mind if Arcade crashes on the couch in our room. Gaby and Ana should have the guest room to themselves and the couch in the rec room is too short for him."

"Yeah, it's fine," Boone assured her. Of course, he would have preferred to be alone with her, but this arrangement made the most sense and he wasn't going to complain about it.

"Thanks. We'll move some furniture around tomorrow." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "You guys catch up. Take your time. Goodnight, Gaby."

"Night," Gaby returned.

Arcade and Beth left the kitchen, shutting the door behind them.

"So...is he dead?" Gaby asked, staring at him intently.

He knew who she meant. "Yes."

"Good." She ground her teeth. "Thank you. Beth didn't have a problem with it, did she?"

"No."

"I wasn't sure, since she's kind of...sweet. I'm glad she understood. I wouldn't want to cause problems."

Boone couldn't blame Gaby for seeing Beth that way upon first meeting her. He'd made that mistake, too. She was "sweet," but she was also practical. Having seen the worst of it up close, she knew how the world worked. There was only one way to deal with evil predators like Clanden and that was to put them down like a rabid dog.

"Thanks again for everything else you guys did today. I don't know what I would have done without you," she said.

"Of course. I'm glad we were there."

Stacking the plates, she stood up and walked them over to the sink.

"You don't have to do the dishes."

"You all have already done so much for us, I can't leave dishes for you, too."

"No, I mean the 38's Mister Handys will do them."

"Oh! Is that how my uniform ended up cleaned and pressed? I was wondering," she said, setting the plates down. "You have quite the setup here."

"Yeah," he said, feeling a twinge of guilt. This was the life Carla had dreamed of, the one that he couldn't give to her, not even if he'd worked his ass off for a hundred years. He had been raised with the idea that a man provides for and protects his family; he had failed on both counts. It was a strange irony that he here now only because he had chosen to follow a woman. "But I guess after all Beth's been through for Mr. House, it's the least he can do."

Gaby grabbed a couple more beers from the fridge and handed him one, then sat back down and opened hers. "Beth seems really great."

Boone nodded, finishing the last of his bottle and opening the new one, letting the cap fall onto the table. "She's...yeah, she is. It means a lot to me that you like her." After what he went through with Carla and Manny, he did not want to relive any of that.

"What's not to like?" She shrugged with a smile. "She was so sweet to me when she brought me back here. Let me take a shower, made me eat something."

"Yeah, she would do that." The thought warmed the sad place in his heart. "From the Pip-Boy, you'd think she was some sheltered vaultie, but she's had it rough, rougher than most, but you'd never know it. She's so kind. Helps people after only knowing them for a few minutes. People are just drawn to her."

"Sounds like you really love her."

It had been something he'd been thinking about for days, but he just couldn't seem to get beyond some internal barrier. "I don't know. It's not that simple."

She grimaced. "Oh, shit, right. Of course, that's understandable, with...everything you've been through."

Boone paused, since it was an odd thing for her to say unless she knew more than he thought she did. The expression on her face bordered on pitying, which made him feel self-conscious. "Did Beth say something to you?" he asked sternly. While he didn't think she would spread around his personal history, maybe she thought it would be okay since Gaby was a close friend.

"It was nothing," she said quickly. "Just a misunderstanding. I thought she was...I ran into Betsy a while ago and she told me you got married and..."

"And you thought she was..." He wiped his hand over his face. "Shit," he thought.

"Yeah. I said something about being happy to finally meet her, but she clarified things."

"Was she upset?" After what had happened a few days ago, he worried this might stir things up again. Beth had been understanding, but how much would she take of having Carla thrown in her face?

"She seemed sad for you, is all."

"What else did she say?"

"She said your wife died, but didn't say how. I got the feeling that what happened was pretty awful."

Boone sighed heavily and put his head in his hands with his elbows resting on the table. At an almost whisper, he said, "The Legion."

She gasped. "Oh, Craig."

He didn't want to tell her more, not now, at least. Telling Beth had been so difficult. Gaby knew enough about the Legion that maybe she didn't need to ask questions. "So, like I said, things with Beth aren't that simple. I already loved one woman and..." He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm dishonoring her memory. Like I'm cheating on her or something. But when I'm with Beth, everything's better. She makes me want to be better. Even though I don't think I deserve her."

"I know I didn't know your wife."

"Carla."

"I know I didn't know Carla, but if she loved you, she would want you to be happy."

"I tell myself that," he said. "Still, I never thought this would happen, finding someone else. I didn't mean for it to. It just sort of did."

"My mama always said that things happen for a reason. I dunno. I mean, you all showed up just when I needed you."

"I guess. Maybe." It was a lot to think about.

Beth retrieved a spare pillow and blanket from the closet to make up the couch for Arcade.

As she did, he lifted up one of the couch cushions. "Oh, hey, it folds out," he said and pulled the cushions off, setting them aside, then moved the coffee table out of the way.

"Folds out?" she asked.

"Yeah, into a bed." Grabbing a handle, he pulled and the inside of the couch came out into a full bed, already made up with sheets and blankets.

"Holy shit! Do all couches do that?" She'd never seen anything like it before. It was as though she'd just seen a magic trick.

"No, just some."

"That's amazing!"

He shook his head at her with an amused grin on his face. "Sometimes I forget that the naive vaultie is still in there somewhere."

She sneered at him, then smiled. "Well, it's lucky that vaultie has learned a lot, or I'd be in big trouble." Putting the pillow and blanket on the fold-out bed, she said, "Hey, Arcade, I wanted to thank you. Not just for your help today, but everything in the last few weeks. It all would have been so much harder without you." Beth wrapped her arms around him, which made his back stiffen noticeably before he returned the hug. "So, thank you." Even though hugging him felt very different from hugging Boone, something about it was still comforting and familiar.

"You're welcome. Thank you for inviting me along. It's been a nice change of pace. It's good to feel useful." Releasing her, he commented, "I think you're going soft. I don't think you've ever hugged me before."

Beth playfully pushed him away. "Hey, I can still kick your ass, so don't get funny."

He laughed and fluffed the pillow at the head of the bed. "So how did you handle the Omertas?"

"Cachino says he has backing from enough of the others to where he can take charge after the bosses are dead. He has a plan to take them out tomorrow, now that Clanden and Troike aren't supporting them with their arsenal of weapons and bombs. I spoke with Mr. House briefly about it and he agrees it's not ideal, but it's the best we can do for now."

"Isn't that the same thing that he was already doing? Putting up with rats?"

"The difference is that I don't really see another choice at the moment short of closing the casino. That would cause too much disruption on the Strip. Cachino has agreed to surprise inspections of their operation and letting any employees go that want to leave, including Joana. Him being in charge is also a temporary arrangement. As soon as the Legion is defeated and the NCR is handled, he's out along with the rest of the remaining Omertas. They just don't know it yet."

"Who's going to replace them?"

"I was thinking the Kings."

"Seriously?" he said with surprise, sitting down on the end of his bed.

"What?"

"Do you think they'll go for it? They turned House down."

"That was years ago. If I'm offering, there's a good chance they'll accept."

"They'll at least consider it. Does Craig know about your quote-unquote relationship with the King?"

She groaned. "Yes, he's known since our first trip to Freeside, long before anything was going on between us. And it wasn't a relationship. Whatever little there was between us had been in the past for well over a year before I met Boone. I have no interest in the King whatsoever."

"Have you run that part of your plan by Mr. House?"

"No, I haven't. I sort of wanted to talk to you first and get your input. So...what do you think?"

His eyebrow raised. "Why me? We haven't exactly seen eye to eye concerning your work with House."

She sat down next to him. "That's partly why I wanted to ask you about it. You'll tell me what you really think, even if you disagree with me. Even if it's not what I want to hear. I need that. You're one of the smartest people I've ever known and you want what's best for as many people as possible, which is what I want, too. I value your opinion."

The corner of his mouth went up and he let out an appreciative hum. "Well, thank you for your vote of confidence. I know how much you care about other people, which is why I'm still with you. The fact that you have been willing to hear dissenting opinions has put my mind more at ease concerning Mr. House. Although, I still have my reservations and probably always will."

"I know." She wished it weren't the case, but it wasn't surprising.

"As for your original question, the King is a good man, from everything I know about him. He cares about the people of Freeside. Without the security he and the rest of the Kings bring, I don't know if the Followers would have been able to successfully operate there. He does have a couple of underlings that aren't so desirable to have around, however."

"Pacer, for one."

"Yes, Pacer, in particular. But no faction is perfect."

"As much as he disgusts me, I'd take him over any of the Omertas."

"As would I. The King does a decent job of keeping him in line." Taking a handkerchief from his pocket, he took off his glasses and carefully wiped the lenses. "Overall, I think it's a good plan as long as it wouldn't compromise security in Freeside. If you're going to be involved in the workings and politics of the Strip, it would be good for you to have an ally like the King."

"It's not like I have any other friends on the Strip. The big boss at The Tops shot me in the head and I've never felt comfortable at The Ultra Luxe. But does the King know how to run a casino?"

"Did the other tribals have any idea what they were doing when House recruited them?" he pointed out. "Doubtful. Besides, the place is already running. That's half of it."

Beth patted his hand affectionately. "Thanks, Arcade. I'm really glad I can talk to you about this stuff. It means a lot to me."

"Anytime. I'm always here for you."

"And if you ever need anything, let me know. I'm here for you, too."

"I know." He rubbed his lips together thoughtfully, then said, "Beth..."

She looked at him intently, waiting for him to continue.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he swallowed hard and sighed. "Nothing. It's just late. We should get some sleep."

"Okay," she answered, trying not to sound inpatient. As she'd seen may times before, he was obviously going to tell her something, but then decided not to. "Good night."

"Good night."